March 25, 2015, 10:33AM

WASHINGTON -- Bowing to congressional pressure, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has agreed to change the calculation used to determine if a veterans lives far enough away from a VA health facility to qualify for federally funded private health care. Previously, the agency had used a straight line measurement to determine if the nearest VA facility was located within... Full story »

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, pets Alleyoop, a PTSD service dog, before a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Guillory's daughter...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, gets a hug from her boyfriend, Richard Klein, also a veteran, during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday,...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Paul Boyd of Metairie light his candle during a vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Kory Mundy honors the four friends he lost in Unit 244 of the Louisiana Guard, who were killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, during a candlelight vigil at Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Kory Mundy gets a handshake for his service and a candle light to honor the four friends he lost in Unit 244 of the Louisiana Guard, who were killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, during a candlelight vigil at Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, holds her hand to her head during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. The Military...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory talks about losing her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. The Military Advocacy Project of Louisiana sponsored...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

With a husband who served for 20 years in the military and an uncle who was a POW, Diann Horn came to a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. The...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Kory Mundy honors the four friends he lost in Unit 244 of the Louisiana Guard, who were killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, during a candlelight vigil at Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Kory Mundy honors the four friends he lost in Unit 244 of the Louisiana Guard, who were killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, during a candlelight vigil at Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory gets hugs of support after speaking about losing her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Guillory's daughter...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Gold star mother Gina Guillory, who lost her son Michael in Afghanistan in 2012, holds her hand to her heart during a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015. Guillory's daughter...

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Bobby Lemoine and his 7-year-old son, Dylan, hold candles at a vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

March 15, 2015, 9:14PM

Friends and families of veterans along with members of the Military Advocacy Project, hold a candlelight vigil to honor the 11 servicemen killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Florida, including 4 soldiers in the Louisiana National Guard, near the Veteran's Memorial in Metairie on Sunday, March 15, 2015.(Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)